For nearly an hour, Father Brian Boucher sat in the front row of a Montreal courtroom on Tuesday, wringing his hands and quietly tapping his feet as he waited for a judge to finish reading out her decision.

In the end, Quebec Court Judge Patricia Compagnone was unequivocal: Boucher’s version of events lacked credibility and truthfulness while the victim’s story was believable, honest and convincing.

“The court believes (the victim’s) testimony and finds it reliable,” Compagnone said. “Consequently, the court is convinced beyond a reasonable doubt of all the sexual assaults.”

As a result, Boucher, 56, was found guilty of the three counts he faced: sexual assault, sexual interference and sexual touching.

He will remain free until his sentencing hearing in late March, at which point Crown prosecutor Annabelle Sheppard said she plans on arguing for a “substantial” prison sentence.

During a judge-alone trial in November, the victim, whose identity is covered by a publication ban, said Boucher began abusing him at the age of 12 while serving as parish priest at Our Lady of the Annunciation Church in Town of Mount Royal.

He said the abuse continued for three years, between 2008 and 2011, and took place in Boucher’s bedroom in the church rectory. It was frequent, included oral sex and escalated to anal penetration on three occasions, he said.

He claimed the victim, an altar boy who later volunteered and worked for the parish, had fabricated his claims out of revenge since Boucher had once informed the boy’s parents he had engaged in “immoral acts” with his girlfriend in the church.

On Tuesday, Compagnone ruled Boucher was “not telling the whole truth” and that his testimony amounted to “telling a story for the purpose of rebutting (the victim’s) testimony.”

“Does the court really need to reiterate that sexual assaults are almost always committed in secrecy behind closed doors?” she asked.

Boucher has worked in churches in Montreal, LaSalle, Dorval, Town of Mount Royal and Senneville. He also served as chaplain at McGill University.

He is scheduled for a separate trial this month in which two men allege similar abuse.

Testimony from one of the men, now in his 30s, was deemed admissible in the November trial as “similar fact” evidence, supporting the prosecution’s case and challenging the defence’s argument that the victim had fabricated his complaint.

That man said he was abused between 1995 and 1999, when Boucher was a priest at St-John-Brébeuf Church in LaSalle.

He said family members had asked Boucher to take him under his wing while his father was in prison, and the priest became a mentor. He said Boucher would touch him in his car and drive him to motels, where the abuse escalated.

Boucher denied the allegations.

In her judgment, Compagnone said suggesting the two men had somehow concocted such similar stories, so many years apart and without ever meeting, was asking her to “believe the unbelievable” and was “highly improbable.”

Following the decision, Sheppard said the Crown was satisfied with how the judge “clearly denounced the reprehensible behaviour committed” by Boucher and called it a victory for the victim.

“It can never undo the years of abuse; even a positive decision will not change having been sexually abused for years,” Sheppard said, adding that it wasn’t easy for the victim to come forward.

“But when the purpose is to hold somebody accountable and to ensure that they can no longer do it to someone else, I think it’s a relief and something that will help him in the healing process.”

Defence lawyer James Cocciardi said he will review the decision.

The Montreal archdiocese, which Sheppard noted fully collaborated with the investigation, issued a statement following the ruling.

“For many different reasons, the verdict arouses a gamut of feelings among both parishioners in the pew and Church leadership, including bishops and priests: feelings of shame, revulsion and anger as well as confusion, sadness and compassion,” it said.

“The Archdiocese acknowledges the courage of those who met with diocesan authorities to report what they had experienced, which led to the court proceedings underway,” it added.

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